Happy New Year from the Journal of the Dermatology Nurses' Association! Okay, I know I am a bit late, and for all of us the official New Year's was a long time ago, but this is the first opportunity I've had to wish you, our readers, New Year's happiness. The beginning of the year is always an exciting time because it offers a time for reflection on the past while providing an opportunity to dream about the future. I know many of us make personal New Year's resolutions, so I thought it might make sense to talk about a set of resolutions for the JDNA. I see resolutions as a commitment to making change in certain areas. The development of the JDNA over the next year (and beyond) will continue as a result of a series of these resolutions about projects and goals.
I am not going to tell you all our specific resolutions right now, but rather I would like to outline how the JDNA board and I are going to work on determining new goals and resolutions for the journal. Many organizations engage in a strategic planning process. Strategic planning is intended to help clarify and determine our goals and outline the strategy to achieve those goals for the next phase of growth and development of the JDNA. I like to think of strategic planning as developing a blueprint, or map; over the next few years we'll follow the plan as we consider how we'd like JDNA to grow and evolve.
We started by sending out a strategic planning survey to both the JDNA board members, as well as the board members of the Dermatology Nurses' Association (DNA) and other key stakeholders in the DNA. At the 2011 JDNA board meeting, held in conjunction with the annual DNA meeting, we discussed the findings of the survey, which helped us to formulate goals for JDNA's future. At this time, I am asking for input from our readers. If you have thoughts about what you would like to see in the JDNA, I would love to hear from you. I am interested in having an open dialogue with readers, and I invite you to contact me so we can talk about the future of dermatology nursing and the JDNA. (On a personally sad note, my e-mail was "hacked" in early December 2011. Unfortunately, what this means is that I no longer have many of the e-mails I received in 2011 or contact information for several JDNA readers and potential authors. I apologize for this confusion, but please do not take my silence as noninterest. I am very eager to continue conversations and ask that you please keep in touch!)
One resolution-and continued priority of the JDNA-is to encourage dermatology nurses to engage in the writing process. Here at the JDNA, we are excited for the many opportunities available to dermatology nurses who are interested in becoming published and helping to contribute to the body of dermatology nursing knowledge. Through a generous partnership with our publisher, Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, we are pleased to be offering three writing awards in 2012. There will be a $250 award given to three authors, one in each of the following categories: Best Clinical Article, Best Research Article, and Most Viewed Article on http://www.JDNAonline.com. These awards will be presented to the authors at the 31st Annual DNA Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2012. All manuscripts published in the JDNA in 2012 will be eligible for consideration. Go to http://www.editorialmanager.com/jdna/ to submit your article by December 31, 2012. I look forward to reading the many manuscripts that will compete for these awards, as this will mean the voices of many dermatology nurses are being heard.
Looking ahead a little bit more, to give you an idea of what is upcoming with the JDNA in 2012, there is an issue planned that will focus on social media and the dermatology nurse, as well as an issue that will examine the role of dermatology nursing in the context of the international dermatology nursing community. Both are exciting topics that are of importance for the computer savvy and globally literate dermatology nurse.
On a last note, I am very excited to share with you that I have officially been named the new Editor-In-Chief of the JDNA. This announcement comes after the execution of a national search for the new editor. Thank you to the Search Committee for their dedication to the process and for volunteering their time to this important task. It is my pleasure to continue serving the JDNA in a way that supports and celebrates dermatology nursing and the dermatology nurse. Thank you readers, writers and members of the dermatology nursing community, for helping the JDNA live our mission.
Looking forward to hearing from all of you in 2012!
Angela L. Borger
Editor-in-Chief